First Lady, Chantal Biya was on Wednesday 21st December 2016 at the Centre for Applied Research, Endoscopic Surgery and Human Reproduction CHRACERH. Her arrival at the Centre which she inaugurated on 6th May 2016 was followed by a welcome address by the Minister of Public Health Andre Mama Fouda. Thereafter, she was treated to a guided tour to the different wards of the Centre where close to 20 in-vitro babies and their mothers have been waiting.

The First Lady Chantal Biya on each case extended a warm hand of fellowship before distributing the gifts she was carrying along. The mothers and their babies were visibly elated for this mark of generosity and special interest the First Lady has been expressing towards the Centre.  The Centre uses advance technology in the endoscopic surgery for women that have problems of pro-creation.

Since its creation on 13th October 2011 CHRACERH has produced close to 25 test-tube babies under the direct supervision of its Director General Professor Jean Marie Kasia. On each stop the First Lady was accompanied by the Director General of the Centre Professor Jean Marie kasia, Public Health Minister Andre Mama Fouda and a host of Cabinet Ministers, dignitaries, special guests and CERAC members.

Culled from CRTV

The Minister of Public Health, Andre Mama Fouda has stated Government’s determination to have two hundred thousand HIV patients get access to free treatment by the end of 2016.Public Health boss made this declaration this Thursday 1st December 2016 in Yaoundé during the commemoration of the 29th edition of the World AIDS Day organized under the theme “Hands up for HIV prevention”. Minister Andre Mama Fouda used the occasion to encourage AIDS patients to strictly follow-up treatment so as to avoid the propagation of the virus.

Commemorative activities in Yaoundé like in other towns of the country were marked by sensitization campaigns, free screening, health talks and distribution of condoms among other activities. Noteworthy is the fact that the disease with still no cure has accounted for the death of many Cameroonians. A number of campaigns spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Health and other stakeholders are being carried out to create awareness of the disease. Also, government now provides free anti-retroviral drugs for patients living with the virus.

Cameroon’s First Lady, Chantal Biya has also been very instrumental in the fight against the disease. According to statistics, about 90% of new infection is as a result of unprotected sexual relations. About 6 % is attributed to mother-to-child transmission, and approximately 4 % as a result of blood transfusion. In Cameroon, the prevalence rate has dropped from is an estimated 4.3% to 3.9.

CRTV

The National Social Insurance Fund known in French as the Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale (CNPS) has signed a convention for medical evacuations of its staffs and other patients to Tunisia, while the institution owns and runs many hospitals in the country.

On October 26, 2016, CNPS signed an agreement with Tunisia’s Mediacal Services (TMS) for medical evacuations. The National Social Insurance Fund was represented during the signing ceremony by Alain Noël Mekulu Mvondo, the general manager of the fund and Slim Maraoui who stood for the TMS.

According to the agreement, patients proposed by CNPS will now be evacuated to Tunisia and no longer in France. The management of CNPS justified the decision to sign the agreement saying it was pushed by the desire to reduce the costs of evacuations to France and Tunisia’s modern technical platforms and the very good quality of its medical practitioners.

Cameroon Concord News health correspondent, who contributed to this report, opined that the convention has betrayed the lack of confidence by CNPS with regard to its own hospitals. The main CNPS hospital in Yaoundé created in 1978 is still struggling to meet international standards. CNPS had been evacuating patients to France and Great Britain. Mekulu Mvondo now thinks Tunisia and Europe have identical technical plates.

By Sonne Peter

The Minister for Youths and Civic Education was in Kribi recently to launch a national initiative which seeks to generalize good civic practices in the country. Many see it as a last-ditch effort to improve on the declining state of public hygiene, especially as the Africa Nations Cup competition draws nearer and nearer. Many have criticized the state of public hygiene in the country and the authorities were beginning to fear that we were going to be caught pants down when the numerous visitors coming into the country for the AFCON if they met the situation uncorrected. Some have rightly called it a national disease. On the major streets of Yaoundé, it is not unusual to find passengers throwing out banana peelings or used Kleenex paper from car windows and quite often this is even done by those in vehicles no one would ever have suspected simply by the quality of their occupants!

Once upon a time, the cities of Yaoundé and Douala had some of the best public telephone booths; but all were gone within months of their installation because hoodlums broke them up and shattered them in the hope of extracting the coins put in to obtain communication lines. Across the country, entire communities have been cut off from electricity by thieves in search of such lines to sell out for use in the manufacture of other lucrative uses. Many Mayors and other authorities have been making appeals for better manners as the countdown for the beginning of AFCON comes closer. The appeals were prompted by the need to address some disturbing actions around newly constructed structures in the country where citizens have not given them the care they require. Within these structures and where toilets and other facilities exist, people would rather urinate just about anywhere.

One must however blame the public authorities for the rise in these condemnable acts because all too often essential services such as toilets and other hospitality services are not provided for when public buildings are conceived. It is possible to go for several kilometers in our major cities with seeing a refuse disposal basket or a public toilet. In such a situation, where does one expect even the most willing person faced with the need to urinate do? Or where does one throw a used piece of Kleenex? It takes both a campaign such as the one being organized by the public authorities but, above all, by the provision of facilities to expect a radical turnaround in the poor habits experienced today. It will take only that to expect to instill a culture of public hygiene and the need to respect common-use facilities in the minds of Cameroonian citizens.

Culled from Cameroon Tribune

Some 255 health professionals have graduated from the Faculty of Medicines and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1. The Minister of Higher Education Jacque Fame Ndongo chaired the graduation ceremony during which the students received their end of course certificates on the 31^st of October 2016.

Addressing the laureates, the Minister of Higher Education outlined what it takes to be a good health practitioner who he described as life savers. At the end of the oath taking exercise, the graduates were officially handed over to the Minister of Public Health- ending seven years of training that was punctuated with field work.

The 255 graduates are specialized in general medicine, pharmacy and dentistry. During the ceremony, some outstanding students in each of the fields received awards.

CRTV

The Cameroon Railway Company and its insurer have agreed to provide assistance to the families of victims of the Eseka train tragedy. Under the agreement, Camrail and its insurance company will contribute up to 1.5million FCFA for each victim family. The money will be used finance funeral arrangements. The beneficiaries must obtain the necessary documents including the death certificate and national identity card.

As tension continues to mount in the country ever since the train crash occurred, senior administrators of Camrail have been shuttling between hospital units in Douala and Yaoundé visiting the wounded. 120 injured are still in hospitals in Douala, Yaounde and Edea.

By Fru James